Session Management

    To start a new chat session:

    1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
    2. Click `Home` or `Chat` in the sidebar
    3. Send your first prompt from the chat box

    goose Desktop supports working with multiple active chat sessions in the same window. Your new sessions are added to the `Chat` section of the sidebar, so you can quickly switch between your 10 most recent sessions. Just click a session to [continue working](#resume-session) in that session.
    
    To change your working directory, click the <FolderDot className="inline" size={16} /> directory switcher at the bottom of the app.

    :::info Starting Sessions in a New Window
    To start a session in a new window, click the <AppWindow className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left. After you send your first prompt, the new session is added to the `Chat` section of the sidebar. 

    On macOS, you can also use the goose dock icon to quickly start sessions:
        - **Drag and drop** a folder onto the goose icon to open a new session in that directory
        - **Right-click** the goose icon and select `New Window` to open a new session in your most recent directory
    :::
    
    #### Keyboard Shortcuts
    
    You can also use keyboard shortcuts to start a new session or manage goose windows.
    
    | Action | macOS | Windows/Linux |
    |--------|-------|---------------|
    | New Session with [Quick Launcher](#quick-launcher) | `Cmd+Option+Shift+G` | `Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G` |
    | New Session in Current Directory | `Cmd+N` | `Ctrl+N` |
    | New Session in Current Directory (Same Window) | `Cmd+T` | `Ctrl+T` |
    | New Session in Different Directory | `Cmd+O` | `Ctrl+O` |
    | Toggle Sidebar | `Cmd+B` | `Ctrl+B` |
    | Open Settings | `Cmd+,` | `Ctrl+,` |
    | Focus goose Window | `Cmd+Option+G` | `Ctrl+Alt+G` |
    | Keep goose Window Always on Top | `Cmd+Shift+T` | `Ctrl+Shift+T` |
    
    #### Customize Keyboard Shortcuts
    
    You can customize these keyboard shortcuts in the **Settings** menu:
    1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
    2. Click `Settings`
    3. Click the `Keyboard` tab
    
    Changes to global shortcuts (Focus Window, Quick Launcher) take effect immediately. Changes to application shortcuts (New Chat, Settings, etc.) require restarting goose.
    
    #### Quick Launcher
    Start a new session by typing your prompt into a popup:
    1. Press `Cmd+Option+Shift+G` (macOS) or `Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G` (Windows/Linux) to open the popup
    2. Type your prompt and press `Enter`

    The session opens to your most recently opened directory in a new goose window.

</TabItem>
<TabItem value="cli" label="goose CLI">
    From your terminal, navigate to the directory from which you'd like to start, and run the [session](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands#session-options) command:
    ```sh
    goose session 
    ```

</TabItem>

    You can edit session names after they're created:

    1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
    2. Click `View All` at the bottom of the `Chat` section
    3. Hover over the session you'd like to rename
    4. Click the <Edit2 className="inline" size={16} /> button that appears on the session card
    5. In the "Edit Session Description" modal that opens:
       - Enter your new session description (up to 200 characters)
       - Press `Enter` to save or `Escape` to cancel
       - Or click the `Save` or `Cancel` buttons
    6. A success toast notification will confirm the change

    Session names appear in the `Chat` section of the sidebar, the `Window` menu, and the Dock (macOS) or taskbar (Windows) menu.

</TabItem>
<TabItem value="cli" label="goose CLI">
    goose sessions are given an auto-generated name based on the context of your initial prompt.

    If you'd like to provide a specific session name, you can do so when starting a session. For example, to name your session "react-migration", run:

    ```sh
    goose session --name react-migration
    ```

    If you want to confirm the session name, run:

    ```sh
    goose session list -l 1
    ```

    Example result:
    
    ```text
    Available sessions:
    20260213_9 - react-migration - 2026-02-13 16:20:37 UTC
    ```

    In the output above, `20260213_9` is the session ID. Session IDs use the format `YYYYMMDD_<COUNT>`. Many [goose CLI commands](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands) let you identify a session by name (`--name` / `-n`) as an alternative to `--session-id`.
</TabItem>

    Your session will be stored in goose's [local SQLite database](/docs/guides/logs#session-records).
</TabItem>

You can use keyboard shortcuts and search bar buttons to search sessions in goose Desktop.

| Action | macOS | Windows/Linux |
|--------|-------|---------------|
| Open Search | `Cmd+F`  | `Ctrl+F`  |
| Next Match | `Cmd+G` or `↓` | `Ctrl+G` or `↓` |
| Previous Match | `Shift+Cmd+G` or `↑` | `Shift+Ctrl+G` or `↑` |
| Use Selection for Find | `Cmd+E` | n/a |
| Toggle Case-Sensitivity | `Aa` | `Aa` |
| Close Search | `Esc` or `X` | `Esc` or `X` |

:::tip Customize Search Shortcuts
You can [customize](#keyboard-shortcuts) the Find, Find Next, and Find Previous keyboard shortcuts in **Settings** → **Keyboard** tab.
:::

:::info No Regex or operator support
Using regular expressions or search operators in search text isn't supported.
:::

The following scenarios are supported:

#### Search Within Current Session

To find specific content within your current session:

1. Use `Cmd+F` to open the search bar
2. Enter your search term
3. Use shortcuts and search bar buttons to navigate the results

#### Search Across Sessions

To search conversation history across all your sessions:

1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
2. Click `View All` at the bottom of the `Chat` section
3. Use `Cmd+F` (or `Ctrl+F`) to open the search bar
4. Enter your search term
5. Use keyboard shortcuts and search bar buttons to navigate the results (`Cmd+E` not supported)

This searches the content of messages in your conversations. The search is limited to the 10 most recent matching messages across sessions. If your search term appears in many messages, the search will only return a subset of sessions.

:::tip Ask goose directly
You can also use the built-in [Chat Recall extension](/docs/mcp/chatrecall-mcp) to ask goose to search your conversation history:
- "Find my earlier conversation about React hooks from last week"
- "Show me sessions where I worked on database migrations"
:::

#### Search Within Current Session

Search functionality is provided by your terminal interface. Use the appropriate shortcut for your environment:

| Terminal | Operating System | Shortcut |
|----------|-----------------|-----------|
| iTerm2 | macOS | `Cmd+F` |
| Terminal.app | macOS | `Cmd+F` |
| Windows Terminal | Windows | `Ctrl+F` |
| Linux Terminal | Linux | `Ctrl+F` |

To find specific content within your current session:

1. Use the shortcut to open the search bar
2. Enter your search term
3. Use shortcuts and search bar buttons to navigate the results

:::info
Your specific terminal emulator may use a different keyboard shortcut. Check your terminal's documentation or settings for the search command.
:::

#### Search Across All Session Content

To search conversation content across all your sessions, start a goose session and ask directly:

- "Find my earlier conversation about React hooks from last week"
- "Show me sessions where I worked on database migrations"

goose will search your session history and show relevant conversations with context from matching sessions.

:::info
This functionality requires the built-in [Chatrecall extension](/docs/mcp/chatrecall-mcp) to be enabled.
:::

#### Search Session Data Directly

The [`session list`](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands#session-list-options) subcommand with supported options can be useful for some search operations.

You can also query the SQLite database directly:

```bash
# Search session descriptions
sqlite3 ~/.local/share/goose/sessions/sessions.db \
  "SELECT id, description FROM sessions WHERE description LIKE '%your search term%';"

# Search by working directory
sqlite3 ~/.local/share/goose/sessions/sessions.db \
  "SELECT id, description, working_dir FROM sessions WHERE working_dir LIKE '%project-name%';"

# List recent sessions
sqlite3 ~/.local/share/goose/sessions/sessions.db \
  "SELECT id, description, created_at FROM sessions ORDER BY created_at DESC LIMIT 10;"
```

:::info Session Storage Migration
Starting with version 1.10.0, goose uses a SQLite database (`sessions.db`) instead of individual `.jsonl` files. Legacy `.jsonl` files remain on disk but are no longer managed by goose.
:::

You can switch between active sessions in the sidebar or resume any session from your history.

#### Switch Between Active Sessions

goose Desktop allows you to switch between multiple chat sessions in the same window. You can start a task in one session, switch to another to do some work, and return to the first session when the task is completed. 

Your most recent sessions (up to 10) are available in the sidebar for quick access:

1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
2. In the `Chat` section, click any session to switch to it

Visual indicators help you track session status:
- **Blue spinning icon** - Session is actively processing a request
- **Green dot** - Session completed a task while you were viewing a different session
- **Red dot** - Session encountered an error

In addition, sessions that are started from a recipe display the <ChefHat className="inline" size={16} /> icon.

:::tip
You can [rename sessions](#name-session) to make it easier to identify specific sessions.
:::

#### Resume from Session History

To find and resume sessions beyond your 10 most recent:

1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
2. Click `View All` at the bottom of the `Chat` section
3. Find the session you'd like to resume. goose provides [search features](#search-sessions) to help you find the session.
4. Choose how to resume:
   - Click `Resume` to continue in the current window
   - Click `New Window` to open in a new window

</TabItem>
<TabItem value="cli" label="goose CLI">
    To resume your latest session, you can run the following command:

    ```
     goose session -r
    ```

    To resume a specific session, run the following command: 

    ```
    goose session -r --name <name>
    ```
    For example, to resume the session named `react-migration`, you would run:

    ```
    goose session -r --name react-migration
    ```
</TabItem>

    Duplicate a session from the session list:

    1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
    2. Click `View All` at the bottom of the `Chat` section
    3. Find the session you want to duplicate
    4. Hover over the session card to reveal the action buttons
    5. Click the <Copy className="inline" size={16} /> button that appears in the top-right corner

    The duplicated session includes:
    - Complete conversation history
    - All session metadata and settings
    - Provider and model configuration
    - Extension data and configurations
    - Recipe information (if applicable)

    The new session is named the same as the original and appears at the top of your session list.

    :::tip Duplicate vs Fork Session
    - **Duplicate** (Copy button in session list): Creates a complete copy of the entire session. Use this to preserve a working session or reuse its configuration.
    - **[Fork Session](/docs/guides/sessions/in-session-actions#fork-session)** (Edit button on a message): Creates a new session with conversation history up to a specific edited message. Use this when editing a message to explore different approaches from that point.
    :::

</TabItem>
<TabItem value="cli" label="goose CLI">
    
    Create a new session by copying all messages from a previous session using the `--fork` flag along with `--resume`.

    ```bash
    # Fork the most recent session
    goose session --resume --fork

    # Fork a specific session by name
    goose session --resume --fork --name my-project

    # Fork a specific session by ID
    goose session --resume --fork --session-id 20251108_3

    # Fork and show message history
    goose session --resume --fork --history
    ```

    The forked session includes:
    - Complete conversation history from the original session
    - All session metadata and settings
    - Provider and model configuration
    - Extension data and configurations
    - Recipe information (if applicable)
</TabItem>

    1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
    2. Click `View All` at the bottom of the `Chat` section
    3. Find the session you want to delete
    4. Hover over the session card to reveal the action buttons
    5. Click the <Trash2 className="inline" size={16} /> button that appears
    6. Confirm the deletion in the modal that appears

    :::warning Permanent deletion
    Deleting a session from goose Desktop will also delete it from the CLI. This action cannot be undone.
    :::

    The session will be immediately removed from your session history and the underlying session record will be deleted from local storage.
</TabItem>
<TabItem value="cli" label="goose CLI">
    You can remove sessions using CLI commands. For detailed instructions on session removal, see the [CLI Commands documentation](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands#session-remove-options).
</TabItem>

    1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
    2. Click `View All` at the bottom of the `Chat` section
    3. Click the <Upload className="inline" size={16} /> `Import Session` button in the top-right corner
    4. Select a `.json` session file that was previously exported from goose
    5. The session will be imported with a new session ID
    6. A success notification will confirm the import

</TabItem>
<TabItem value="cli" label="goose CLI">
    Session import is currently only available through the Desktop app.
</TabItem>

    1. Click the <PanelLeft className="inline" size={16} /> button in the top-left to open the sidebar
    2. Click `View All` at the bottom of the `Chat` section
    3. Find the session you want to export
    4. Hover over the session card to reveal the action buttons
    5. Click the <Download className="inline" size={16} /> button that appears
    6. The session will be downloaded as a `.json` file named after the session description

</TabItem>
<TabItem value="cli" label="goose CLI">
    Export sessions for backup, sharing, migration, or documentation purposes. You can export as JSON files to preserve complete session data including conversation history, metadata, and settings, or as Markdown files to get a formatted, readable version of the conversation.

    From your terminal, run the [`session export`](/docs/guides/goose-cli-commands#session-export-options) subcommand:
    
    ```bash
    goose session export
    ```

</TabItem>